Google, HP Recall 145,000 Chromebook 11 Chargers

Google and Hewlett-Packard are recalling 145,000 power supply/ chargers for the HP Chromebook 11 in the wake of nine reports of the chargers "overheating and melting during use."

"There is one report of a small burn to a consumer and one report of minor property damage to a pillow from an overheating charger," according to a recall report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which lists Google as the "importer" of the product and HP as the "distributor."

The U.S. CPSC, which listed the "hazard" as a charger that "can overheat and melt, posing fire and burn hazards," said consumers "should immediately stop using the recalled charger" and contact Google for a free replacement charger.

The U.S. CPSC said Google which can be reached at (866) 628-1371 between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. Pacific time seven days a week or by going to Chromebook.com.

The charger involved in the recall has a 6-foot-long cord with a micro USB connector (Model no: MU15-N1052-A00S) and was manufactured in China.

Google and HP already had stopped selling the HP Chromebook 11, which was released in October at a suggested retail price of $279.99, on Nov. 13 after reports surfaced of the overheating chargers. At that time, HP and Google said they were working with the U.S. CPSC to "identify the appropriate corrective action."

In a blog post , HP apologized for the "inconvenience" the recall caused consumers. "Your safety is our top priority," HP said in the blog post. "With our partner Google, we are resuming sales of the HP Chromebook 11. All new packages will include the replacement charger."

Ira Grossman, CTO of end user and mobile computing for MCPc, a nationwide HP partner specializing in mobile solutions with its Anyplace Workspace, said he did not expect the recall to hurt sales of the HP Chromebook 11.

"Think of how many times automobiles have been recalled with things that are much more serious," said Grossman. "You have to roll with the punches."

Fortunately, the recall came before the product was widely available from solution providers, said Grossman.

The U.S. CPSC said the products being recalled were available from Best Buy stores nationwide, online at Amazon.com, Bestbuy.com and Google Play and from HP.com from October to November.

HP rival Dell just unveiled its own Dell Chromebook 11 product, based on Intel's Haswell processor. HP's Chromebook 11 is based on the Samsung Exynos processor.